I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to cover assemblies and, more particularly, to such a cover assembly for use with a hamper.
II. Description of the Prior Art
In hospitals, nursing homes and other types of institutions, dirty linen and trash must be collected on a frequent and periodic basis. Such linen and trash are conventionally collected in one or more hampers throughout the institution. Trash and linen are, of course, collected in separate hampers.
Institutional hampers typically comprise a frame over which a removable liner is positioned and held in place. The removable liner includes an open end and, when positioned over the frame, the open end of the liner faces upwardly. These removable liners, furthermore, are usually constructed of linen which is laundered after each use.
The removable liners employed in the institutional hampers are usually specially manufactured for the hamper frame for simple and rapid placement onto and removal from the hamper frame. To accomplish this, these liners usually include an overlapping portion adjacent their open end which fits around the upper rim on the hamper frame in order to hold the liner to the frame.
It is desirable to provide a cover for institutional hampers for sanitary reasons and there have been a number of previously known hamper covers for this purpose. One type of previously known cover merely comprises a planar lid dimensioned to fit over the open end of the liner when positioned on the hamper frame. The lid is simply lifted and removed from the hamper frame when insertion of dirty linen or trash into the liner is desired. This type of cover, however, is cumbersome and unsatisfactory in use since the lid, when removed, must be positioned on the floor, a chair or some other location so that the person using the hamper must continually stoop down to recover the lid. Moreover, this type of cover rapidly becomes lost since the cover is not attached to the hamper and thus require frequent and expensive replacement.
In still a further type cover assembly for an institutional hamper, a planar lid is pivotally mounted to one or more C-shaped clips so that the planar cover can pivot with respect to the clips. Then, with the removable liner positioned over the upper rim of the hamper frame, the C-shaped clip or clips are attached to the frame rim so that a portion of the liner is sandwiched in between the frame and the C-shaped clips. The lid can then pivot between an open and closed position due to the pivotal connection with the C-shaped clips.
This type of previously known cover assembly, however, has not proven entirely satisfactory in use. One disadvantage of this type of cover assembly is that the lid, when opened, pivots in a relatively wide arc about the frame rim. Because of this, the lid often times bangs into and sometimes damages objects next to the hamper when opened.
A still further disadvantage of this latter type of previously known cover assembly is that the cover must be removed from the hamper frame whenever the liner is positioned onto or removed from the frame since a portion of the liner is entrapped between the C clips and the hamper frame. The frequent removal and subsequent attachment of the cover assembly to the hamper frame is not only cumbersome and time consuming but can also result in accidental damage to the cover assembly and to the C-shaped mounting clips.